“He said, ‘Mama, I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe,'” said Jacqueline M. Stewart outside an Oakland courtroom Wednesday afternoon, as the jury began its deliberations about the murder charge her 36-year-old son, Jamaal Prince, is facing. The trial began July 2.

Stewart said her son — who was born and raised in Berkeley, and had worked as a security chief at a Berkeley cannabis club on San Pablo Avenue before his arrest — then hung up. She began calling his friends to try to find him: “I knew something was wrong.”

The defense attorney and prosecutor, who made their closing arguments Wednesday before lunch, have both asked the jury to come back with a guilty verdict.

Defense attorney Al Thews argued for a voluntary manslaughter conviction, and said Prince believed he was defending himself from Kingeter during the “terrible fight in that bathroom between the two of them.” He said Prince had followed Kingeter into a bathroom, expecting to have sex — to which Kingeter had not agreed — and that she had then stabbed him with a knife. … Continue reading »

Wednesday afternoon, a key witness for the prosecution failed to appear, and Judge Jon Rolefson issued a warrant for his arrest. If Julius Johnson cannot be found, the prosecution plans to read his testimony from an earlier hearing into the record for consideration by jurors.

But, while Alameda County deputy district attorney Danielle Hilton told the jury Prince brutally attacked Kingeter after she refused to have sex with him, defense attorney Al Thews said Prince was high on cocaine and alcohol, and believed he was defending himself after Kingeter stabbed him in the leg. … Continue reading »

A Berkeley man accused of a brutal stabbing in late 2012, which killed a local Laney College student and hairstylist, has been ordered to face the murder charges brought against him by the Alameda County district attorney’s office.

According to testimony during Prince’s preliminary hearing, which took place Tuesday and Wednesday, a friend the two had in common — 24-year-old Julius Johnson — introduced Kingeter and Prince that night. All three ended up at an apartment that was being used by Prince. After Prince started acting “psycho,” pulling a knife on Johnson, threatening him and trying to stab him, Johnson fled, leaving a terrified Kingeter alone with the man who would later be charged with her murder. … Continue reading »

Jennifer “Jessica” Kingeter grew up in Berkeley and Albany, dancing for 12 seasons in The Nutcracker at the Julia Morgan Theater on College Avenue, swimming in Lake Anza over the summer, and helping her mother with a radio show about dancing on KPFA, according to her father, in a comment on Berkeleyside.

The 26-year-old was known for her toothy smile and her warm demeanor.

“She was just a sweet girl. She was always laughing, always had that big smile,” said cousin Cindy Burgos of Georgia. … Continue reading »

Last week, police arrested Jamaal Prince, 34, of Berkeley in Kingeter’s death. He was charged Monday, Dec. 31, with murder, and is set to appear in court to enter a plea this coming Monday.

According to court documents, police found Prince “at the scene of a homicide naked, covered in blood in close proximity to a bloody knife.” Police said Prince was treated at Highland Hospital for several cuts to his hands, and was then “cleared for incarceration.”

Police said, in the declaration of probable cause for Prince’s arrest, that he waived his rights during the police interview, and “confessed to stabbing the victim multiple times.” … Continue reading »

A 34-year-old Berkeley man who was on parole for a 2010 assault on his mother has been charged with the stabbing death on Friday of a Berkeley woman in her 20s, according to authorities and media reports.